


Can we Get Through This?

by MalecAcid



Series: Here Comes the End [1]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Break Up, Commission AU, Diego Hargreeves Deserves Better, Diego Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Diego Hargreeves is Bad at Feelings, F/M, Gen, Hurt Diego Hargreeves, Hurt No Comfort, No Incest, POV Diego Hargreeves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:22:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27720653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MalecAcid/pseuds/MalecAcid
Summary: "We've been watching you for quite a long time.""Who is 'we', and who are you." Diego asked harshly, gripping the handle of the knife even tighter than before."Well, most call me The Handler."ORThe Commission has decided to take the seven siblings responsible for damaging the timeline before they manage to screw it up. Diego is their first recruit.
Relationships: Diego Hargreeves & Lila Pitts, Diego Hargreeves & The Handler, Diego Hargreeves/Eudora Patch, The Handler & Lila Pitts
Series: Here Comes the End [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2027603
Comments: 10
Kudos: 16





	Can we Get Through This?

**Author's Note:**

> So!!! I have decided to become a basic tua fic writer and write a commission au!! 
> 
> Before we get any further might as well spell out the warnings kfkzndnsnd 
> 
> ‼️Warning for guns, talk of drugs, knives, and talk of death‼️
> 
> Now that that's out of the way mdkskdns I feel like it's important to mention the fact that Diego is 22 in this!! Also!!! All of the other sibs are gonna get their own fics too so dw!! This isn't like,,, a stand alone that's not gonna get continued kfkskdnsk it's gonna be a fic series with all of them getting recruited and side fics and plot blah blah blah yeah yeah 
> 
> And!!! Gabe (whatisthiswhatamidoing) beta'd this!!! Gabe ilysm and thabk for existing and beta-ing this ily 🥺🥺 
> 
> And I think that's all??? This series won't have a schedule so idk when the next fic will be out but!! It will be out eventually KXKZKDJZJDJ 
> 
> anyways I hope you like this fic and this series 🥺🥺

Diego would probably agree with the fact that this was the worst day in existence. 

It didn't necessarily start out being the worst. He had woken up in Eudora's bed, her arms wrapped around his waist as she snuggled into his back. He was warm and cozy and it was so different to how he ended up at the end of the day, alone on a bench while rain poured down. 

They stayed in bed for only an hour before Eudora woke up, immediately moving her arms away and standing from the bed. Diego sighed, but did the same. 

They had gotten into an argument the night before, but he had thought that it would be fine in the morning. Clearly, he had forgotten how long his girlfriend could hold a grudge for. 

"Dora-"

"Don't call me that." She turned around from where she was putting on her police academy uniform to glare at him. "And get ready, we have to be at the academy in an hour." 

"Are you still mad at me?" He questioned, sticking out his bottom lip jokingly. 

She rolled her eyes fondly, pushing down her smile. "No." She pointed to his uniform that had been discarded on the floor the night before. "Come on."

He sighed, but moved to pick it up and put it on. 

As they got ready, their banter slowly returned to normal as Eudora's grudge faded. He grinned when she kissed him before they headed out the door and grabbed her hand, holding onto it as they started the twenty minute walk to the academy, attempting not to let the slowly darkening sky affect their mood. 

Sure, they could've driven, but they both liked to walk, and it gave them a chance to talk before they basically couldn't for five hours. The light rain didn't deter them. 

When they arrived, the day went pretty normally. They got their usual lecture about what it meant to be on the force and went through about three or so hours of training after that. It was a normal day. 

Until they were all brought into a dimly lit hall, two doors at the end of it with nothing else. 

Diego figured that maybe today was the day they were all going to get tazed, or pepper sprayed, but that didn't make sense. They were barely halfway through the year and everyone always told him that that would happen later on. He guessed that he would just have to wait and see. 

"Alright," Their commanding officer started. "I didn't warn you all about this because, well, I didn't feel the need to." Diego rolled his eyes, and Eudora elbowed him in the side. 

"You're all getting blood tests today." Diego froze. "Just to test for drugs. It's required to continue." 

They all stood in silence for a minute as he let his words sink in. Diego stared blankly ahead, his head empty. 

"Alright, Beaman, Rodriguez, you guys are up." He pointed to the two seperate rooms and they nodded, walking through the doors and shutting them behind them quietly. 

He didn't realize how much time had passed, all he knew was that more and more people were going and that his name had yet to be called while Eudora attempted to get his attention worriedly. 

"Hargreeves, Patch, you guys are the last ones up." Diego blinked out of his frozen state at that, looking around the hall to see that everyone had left and it was only him and Eudora that remained. 

She started to move to one of the doors, but paused when she realized Diego had stayed in his place. 

The commanding officer glared at him as Eudora spoke up. "Diego, come on." 

"Uh… n-nope." He said, stuttering as he took a step back. "I'm good."

"Good?" The commanding officer took a step towards him while Eudora stepped into the room silently, closing the door behind her without another word. "What do you mean, good?"

"I mean," Diego started, taking another step back, his back hitting the wall. "I'm good." 

He had no idea what he was doing. All he knew was that he was not about to willingly be stabbed with a needle for seemingly no good reason. No way. 

"Then you're done." He said simply, turning his back to Diego. 

"W-what?" He didn't know why he questioned. He knew this was going to happen. 

"I said you're done. Get out." He crossed his arms, and Diego took a small step forward. 

"But-"

"Out." He cut him off, and Diego nodded silently, leaving the room without another word. 

In hindsight, sitting on a bench in the rain waiting for Eudora just outside the police academy wasn't his best idea. He should've given her time to cool off, especially after their fight the night before. Even if she had already forgiven him, that didn't mean that it wouldn't add to her anger over him being kicked out of the academy. 

He was stupid for not telling her about his fear of needles, and his past with them. She knew almost everything else, so why didn't he mention this? He was stupid for not going into the room and just letting them test him. Stupid for getting kicked out of the academy. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. 

Diego had only sat on the bench for about ten minutes before she had walked out of the building, walking towards him quickly, an umbrella in her hand that shielded her from the rain. He was drenched in the water and she was perfectly dry. 

She came up to stand in front of him, and crossed her arms as best she could while holding the umbrella, staring at him silently. All he did was stare dejectedly at the floor. 

It didn't take too long for her to eventually speak up. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Diego's posture straightened immediately at that. Did she know why he didn't get tested? Did she understand? 

She scoffed. "I mean, drugs. Really Diego? Drugs?" His heart felt as if it had been crushed into pieces as he slumped down. "You always complain about your brother and yet here you are."

"I-" 

"Save it." She cut him off, and he could've sworn he saw a tear roll down her cheek. He didn't think that he'd ever seen her cry. "I just… I don't know why you think you can't tell me when or if you're struggling."

"Dora…" 

"Don't call me that!" She cut him off again, and moved to wipe her face with her sleeve quickly. "I think…" She looked down at her feet and moved around the water in the puddle she was standing in. "I think it would be best if we took a break." She looked back up at him to see his reaction. 

He kept his face blank, showing no emotion as he stared straight ahead, not saying anything. 

She huffed a humorless laugh, muttering a quiet 'of course' before turning and walking away. 

Diego didn't move an inch for two hours after that. The rain continued to drench him as he stared at the puddle of water Eudora stood in before. 

He must have looked pathetic, sitting there while thunder raged on and the rain poured down. The sky grew dark and all Diego did was sit. All he did was sit and think about nothing. Nothing except for the single tear that rolled down Eudora's cheek. 

Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. 

He didn't even jump when a bright light flashed in front of him and a person holding a briefcase appeared. All he did was slowly tilt his head to look at the lady in front of him, dressed in a red dress and white coat that matched her hair. 

She took a step forward, and he didn't even have it in him to reach for the knife in his back pocket. 

"Diego Hargreeves." She said, plastering a grin on her face. "It seems to me you're in a fairly unpleasant situation." She looked at their surroundings for a moment before taking another step forward, and he stood, glaring at her suspiciously. 

"How do you know my name." 

She laughed, setting down her briefcase and taking another larger step forward. Diego moved his hand to grab at the handle of the knife in his pocket, but didn't take it out.

"Well, I-" She paused. "We've been watching you for a long time." 

"Who is 'we', and who are you." He asked harshly, gripping the handle even tighter than before. 

"Well, most call me The Handler." 

"The Handler." Diego scoffed. "Alright. Tell me who 'we' is."

"Ah, yes." She said with a small laugh. "'We' is The Commission."

"The Commission." He repeated her again.

"Yes, The Commission. We monitor the space-time continuum."

Diego laughed, slightly hysterical. "The space-time continuum?" This had to be a joke. He moved to sit back down on the bench, removing his hand from his knife and crossing his arms. "Alright."

She gave an exasperated sigh. "We send operatives into the field to take out anyone who messes with the timeline." Diego froze, but didn't stand up. "Don't get too concerned quite yet. You're a recruit, not a target."

He shook his head slightly, huffing a laugh. "A recruit?" The Handler's smile grew annoyed. "And why would I agree to that."

The Handler moved her hand down to her dress, reaching into a pocket Diego did not realize was there and pulled out a small handgun. He immediately stood up, pulling the knife out of his pocket and pointing it at her while she ran her hand over the smooth metal of her gun. 

"You know, Diego, you don't seem very happy as of late." He paused, grip on the knife slacking slightly in surprise. "I mean, now you have no job, no girlfriend. Do you even have a house?" 

"Shut. Up." He growled, taking a step forward. She raised the gun and pointed it at his heart, holding it steadily as she continued talking, tilting her head to the side. 

"A new job sounds like just what you need, don't you think?"

They stood there for about a minute, holding their weapons out at each other in silence. Slowly, the hand holding Diego's knife lowered, and The Handler's smile reappeared. 

"Well?" She questioned, the gun still pointed directly at his heart. 

He sighed, shoving the knife into his back pocket, and she grinned, bringing the gun down and putting it back in her dress. 

"Well then." She started, turning around and grabbing the briefcase before bringing it back. "I guess we should go." 

He took a step forward, looking behind her at the police academy one last time. She gave him a weird look as he stared at the place Eudora walked off for a moment, before he stepped forward, placing his hand on the briefcase and closing his eyes. 

He reopened them when he felt like he was going to throw up the very small lunch he'd had hours before. His head felt as if it was splitting in half. 

The Handler laughed while he groaned, moving his hands to clutch at his head and stomach. 

"It gets easier." 

"No, it doesn't." A voice Diego hadn't heard before said loudly, and he looked up quickly to see a girl in a black outfit with bright red shoes and a small smile. 

"Ah, Lila." The Handler smiled, but her voice seemed to become almost more tense. "This is my daughter."

Lila stepped forward. "And who are you?" 

Diego unconsciously stood up straighter, putting his hands down by his sides. "Diego."

"The new recruit I was telling you about!" The Handler cut in, and Lila rolled her eyes. "Get him to orientation will you? I need to make sure Hazel and Cha Cha aren't screwing up their current mission." 

Lila sighed quietly, so The Handler wouldn't hear, Diego assumed. "Sure mum." She turned fully towards Diego, then nodded her head towards a hallway. "Come on."

She turned and started walking quickly while Diego scrambled to keep up. He could've sworn he heard her laugh when he almost tripped over his own two feet as he followed behind. 

She turned to look at him with a grin. "Keep up." 

Diego huffed, but began to walk faster anyways. Eventually, she led him into a room with several school desks all facing the projected screen and filled with people of various ages. 

The lady at the desk in front nodded to him as he stood in the doorway. "Go ahead and sit. All questions will be answered at the end of the film" 

Diego turned to question Lila, but she had already left. He sighed, and moved to sit down, flinching when the lady threw the packet onto the desk.

She moved to sit down and started the video, falling asleep almost instantly after. Diego groaned at the 'over the next 90 minutes' and leaned against the back of his seat, trying not to laugh too loudly at Mr. Briefcase. 

It was pretty hard, considering the fact that he was a walking talking briefcase with a face. 

The only thing Diego heard before he zoned out completely was something about not-quite-free donuts.

* * *

"Alright!" 

The lights flickered on, and Diego jumped, turning his head to look at the lady standing in front of the now finished movie. 

She looked down to the packet in her hands. "Go ahead and flip to page four. There you'll see the three options for jobs we have here. Please check off two of the boxes. Those two are what you'll be trained in." 

Diego rubbed at his eyes before turning to the page. 

Analyst, Agent, Infinite Switchboard Authorizer. The words meant nothing to Diego. Maybe he really should have paid attention. 

He randomly checked the second and third boxes, writing his name in sloppy letters at the top and shutting the packet. The lady -he would really have to learn her name if he was going to work here- walked up to him, hand out, and he put the packet in her hands before leaning back against the seat with a huff. Hopefully this whole training thing wouldn't take too long. 

She moved to stand by the door, beginning to call out certain names, and Diego stood when he heard his own get called, and moved to stand with the other 'agents.' Before the lady could start to walk them out of the room, though, Lila barged in, slamming the door open, making everyone flinch. 

The lady seemed to hold back a sigh, putting a false grin on her face. "Yes, Lila." 

"Ivy! My favorite teacher!" She moved to put an elbow on her shoulder, pulling her lollipop out of her mouth, and the lady -Ivy- squeezed her eyes shut, a vague look of frustration on her face. "How the new recruits doing?"

She blinked her eyes open. "Fine." 

"Perfect." She moved her elbow off her shoulder and turned to fully face her. "So, Ivy, I'm here to take one of these recruits off your hands." She spread her arms out by her side while Ivy raised an eyebrow, putting the hand not holding the packet on her hips. 

"And who authorized this?" 

"The Handler." Lila said, a grin on her face as Ivy slumped slightly. "Yup!" She turned to face the recruits, shoving the lollipop back in her mout. "Diego Hargreeves." 

Diego froze, looking up at her incredulously. 

"You're coming with me." She said simply, taking the lollipop stick out of her mouth once again and throwing it in the trash as she turned her back, walking out of the room without another glance towards him.

He figured that following her would be the best thing to do, so he quickly scrambled after her, attempting not to trip over his own feet as he had only hours before. 

"Where are we going?" He questioned when he had finally caught up, and she turned to face him with a grin. 

"Well, my mum figured that since you've already done a bunch of the training that agents do, that you might as well move on." Her grin grew wider. "But they don't start training for the ISB for another week, so-" She paused, elbowing his side as they came in front of a door. "You're my personal responsibility."

She moved to open the door and walked inside while he stood still. When she realized that he didn't walk into the empty room with her, she rolled her eyes, grabbing onto his hand and pulling him in. "Come on, you big baby!" 

He glared, shaking her hand off of his and walking into the room. 

Lila huffed before walking quickly into the room, moving to sit down in one of the few chairs, already starting to spin around in it. 

"So. The ISB." She moved to put her feet on the desk, red shoes gleaming brightly under the artificial light. He took a step forward, looking curiously at the machine. "Using it you can look through the entire timeline and report any anomalies you see blah blah blah all that crap." She took her feet off the desk, moving forward to plug different colored cables in. Soon enough, an image of a random band appeared on the tiny screen. "I mostly use it for this, though." She moved to lean back against the chair, lowering her voice to the whisper and throwing him a quick glance. "We're not supposed to use the ISB unless it's approved, but since I'm The Handler's daughter…" She paused, rocking back and forth in the seat. "I pretty much get away with anything."

Diego moved to sit in the chair next to her, and she raised her eyebrows while he shrugged. 

"So," He started, leaning back in his chair and looking up at the machine. "You gonna show me how to work this puppy?" 

She grinned, turning and taking out the cables before explaining a bunch of stuff that Diego would probably forget soon enough.

* * *

It went like this every day for about a week. He would wake up and leave his apartment that he somehow had, then head to The Commission building, going straight to the ISB room where a Lila was already waiting. He never interacted with anyone else at The Commission after that first day. All it was was him and Lila in a room, her teaching him how to plug in cables to see all of time. 

Sure, there were a few times when he would miss his old home, his boiler room and the academy. Sometimes he even missed Al. But… there was nothing there for him anymore. Except Eudora. 

But no. She didn't want him either. Before The Commission picked him up, all he was was a sad person soaked in rain, sitting on a bench after one of the only people he truly loved left him behind. 

Eventually though he did start to wonder what he was actually _doing_. What The Commission was actually _for_. The only thing he knew by the end of his first week was how to use the Infinite Switchboard. He didn't know the motives of this place. Didn't know if they were good or bad. 

They painted themselves as if they were a typical office job. There were people clacking away on keyboards in some rooms, but sometimes when Diego looked in others he would see a person appear, holding a briefcase and covered in blood with a creepy kids mask on. 

He knew that they killed at The Commission. That's what the agents were for, that's what he was offered to do, and that's the job he took. That didn't mean he knew exactly what was happening around there, though. He doubted any of them did, even Lila. 

He had figured that asking her would've helped, but all that he got was more confusion. 

"What exactly is it that you people do around here?" He'd asked her, his third day on the job as they sat quietly in the ISB room, not doing much of anything. 

She paused, taking the end of the pen she was chewing on out of her mouth. "Maintain the correct timeline." 

He raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair to look at her. "And what does that mean."

She looked contemplative for a moment, tilting her head to the side before responding. "Well, agents kill people that were supposed to be killed, and analysts are the ones that assign them to their missions."

He hummed. "But if they were supposed to be killed, wouldn't they've been? Without your intervention?"

She paused. "I… I don't know. My mum always says that we don't know the big picture of what The Commission is doing."

And well, that really just didn't make sense. Diego didn't think that Lila was _lying_ to him. He just didn't think that she knew either, whether what they were doing was good or not. 

"Well," She started, jumping up from her chair and moving towards the machine, breaking the awkward silence that had been created. "Might as well continue." 

Diego nodded, moving forward and watching as she plugged in more random cables.

* * *

He had only been there for two weeks when they deemed him finished with training. And now, he had free range of The Commission building. 

Well, that wasn't necessarily true. He couldn't just go anywhere and do anything, but he had yet to be assigned as an agent due to the other recruits not being finished with their training yet, so he just had nothing to do.

He still worked there, but most days all he would do was talk to Lila and watch random things on the ISB while he was supposed to be 'looking for anomalies.' 

Though the day before Lila had told him the recruits were almost finished before taking off on a mission of her own, so he supposed he should do whatever he wanted for the few days of nothingness that he had left. 

He walked to the ISB door, checking down the empty hallway for people before walking in and shutting the door behind him quietly. What he was doing wasn't necessarily against the rules, as long as he said that he was 'looking for anomalies,' but he still wouldn't have wanted to get caught doing what he was planning to do. 

"Alright," He started, rubbing his hands together and picking up the cables. "Let's put the training to good use." He plugged them into where he thought they were supposed to go, and was immediately shocked by a current of electricity. 

He bit his lip to muffle his noise of pain and collapsed back into a chair. Who knew that it would be this hard without Lila telling him exactly where to plug in the cables? 

"Let's try this again," He muttered, standing from the chair and grabbing the cables tentatively. 

He carefully plugged one of the cables into a slot, but before he did the same with the other he took a deep breath, closing his eyes and slowly clicking it into place. 

When he opened his eyes, he was watching his brother die all over again.

* * *

For five years, all Diego could think about was what he could've done to prevent it. What he could've done to stop it. What he could've done to save him. 

He didn't anticipate that he would actually get the damn machine to _work_ , so even though he had planned to watch this, had prepared himself to witness it once again, that didn't mean he realized how much it would affect him to see a person he loved get shot on a mission that was just like any other. 

The second that the gun fired Diego ripped the cables out of the machine, moving his hands to cover his ears and squeezing his eyes shut just in case the video continued to play. 

He stood there, frozen for almost three minutes before his hands began to loosen from their spot around his ears. He put them down by his sides and opened his eyes slowly, sighing in relief at the sight of a blank screen. 

He collapsed into the chair behind him, putting his head in his hands. 

There was nothing he could've done. Nothing. 

He didn't know if that made it worse. 

He took a deep breath before standing once again, grabbing the cables and holding them tightly enough so that the sharp metal poked into his palms painfully. There was one more thing he had to do. One more thing he had to check. 

He started at the machine before plugging in one of the cables, and then the other. He flipped a random switch that seemed right enough and suddenly the sound of him and his siblings eating dinner at thirteen years old rang out. 

He turned to face the screen and watched as a knife was stabbed into a table that he had sat at every day for seventeen years. 

"I want to time travel." Diego held back a sob. They all looked so young. 

"No."

"But I'm ready." Five started, and Diego laughed tearfully. He was always such an asshole. "I've been practicing my spatial jumps just like you said." He jumped to stand next to their father. "See?"

"A spatial jump is trivial when compared to the unknowns of time travel. One is like sliding along the ice, the other is akin to descending blindly into the depths of the freezing water, and reappearing as an acorn." Or not reappearing at all, Diego thought to himself, somewhat bitter. 

Five scoffed. "I don't get it."

"Hence the reason you're not ready."

Diego watched as a little Vanya shook her head, and he felt a pang hit his heart when he realized that he didn't notice that small motion the first time around. 

"But I'm not afraid." 

"Fear isn't the issue. The effects it might have on your body, even your mind, are far too unpredictable." Five rolled his eyes and Diego tried not to smile. "Now," Reginald turned to Five. "I forbid you to talk about this anymore." 

There was silence for a moment as Diego prepared himself for what he knew was about to happen. 

And then suddenly, Five was storming out of the house with Reginald calling after him. 

But this time, Diego didn't just sit there, he _followed_. 

Well, thirteen year old Diego sat, but twenty-two year old Diego? He leaned forward as the screen followed the brother that he'd lost so many years ago. 

Five walked quickly down the street and brought his hands together. They glowed blue and suddenly he disappeared from the screen and all that was left was an empty street. 

"No, no no no." Diego mumbled, fumbling his hands over the machine before coming to another random switch and flipping it.

As soon as he did that the screen glitched for a moment before showing the same street, but this time it was snowing and Five was grinning, bringing together his hands once again. 

This time, the screen stayed with him and the street had changed more and the snow stopped, the sun beating down on Five's head. 

This must be what time travel was, Diego thought to himself as Five did the motion over and over again, moving further and further in time. 

Then all of the sudden the little changes on the street stopped and all there was was fire. Diego flinched slightly at the brightness that the screen produced, leaning in closer as Five looked around in confusion. 

The world was in flames. Buildings were destroyed and there was no life, no people. 

Diego collapsed back into his chair, staring at the screen with wide eyes, speechless as Five brought his hands back together, blue light appearing but not taking him anywhere. 

There was an apocalypse coming. 

"Shit."

**Author's Note:**

> Aaaaa I hope you liked 🥺🥺🥺🥺


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